Block by block: Community outreach for Cook County’s mediation program can help families save their homes

What we're trying to avoid: an abandoned home encountered by an Interfaith Leadership Project outreach worker
 
For tens of thousands of property owners facing foreclosure in Cook County, information about the foreclosure process and communication with their lenders are key issues.  In fact, foreclosure is more frequent when owners lack information about their options and breakdowns in communication occur between them and the servicers of their loans--especially once their foreclosure cases enter the court system.  With the launch of the new Circuit Court of Cook County Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program, community-based organizations, housing counselors, and legal aid providers are repairing the lines of communication between borrowers and lenders, finding alternatives to foreclosure such as loan modifications, and facilitating graceful exits when loan modifications are not possible.  
 
The Circuit Court of Cook County decided that innovative action was needed to confront this unprecedented and overwhelming crisis.  Noting that a large number of cases could be resolved outside of a courtroom if the buyer and seller could come together rather than take up adversarial positions, Cook County allocated $3.5 million towards an initiative that would bring housing counselors, legal experts and mediators into the mix to assist home owners and lenders.  This new initiative is not designed to circumvent the regular process of foreclosure, but to provide an opportunity for lenders and borrowers to voluntarily agree to find a negotiated solution. The court has partnered with The Chicago Community Trust, the Chicago Bar Foundation and the Illinois Housing Development Authority to manage and deliver services.
 
Reaching out to eligible homeowners and offering them resources is as important as having those resources in place. Therefore, there is a real need for a thorough community-based outreach strategy to make sure that homeowners, especially those in areas hard-hit by the crisis, take advantage of counseling and legal aid, don’t miss any court dates or deadlines, file the right paperwork, and remain involved in the court process. A community outreach initiative managed by The Chicago Community Trust and implemented by ten nonprofit organizations with assistance from Woodstock Institute is ensuring that the word about the program is spread throughout Cook County. Action Now, Bethel New Life, Lakeside CDC, North West Side Housing Center, South West Organizing Project (SWOP), Genesis Housing Development Corporation, Interfaith Leadership Project, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Oak Park Regional Housing Center, and Spanish Coalition for Housing are all reaching out to homeowners across Cook County. All together, these organizations are visiting over 1,000 homes with foreclosure filings each month and, in the process, assisting the renters they encounter and logging in vacant properties. Action Now and SWOP, two of the most experienced organizations doing door-to-door work, provide periodic training to agencies’ staff and volunteers on the basics of canvassing. 
 
“When homeowners are not talking with their bank and vice versa, and when lenders and clients don’t understand each other, the opportunity to develop creative solutions to avoid foreclosure is completely lost,” said Cris Pope of the Interfaith Leadership Project (ILP), an agency working in Cicero and Berwyn. In the western part of Cook County, where a group of municipalities have been collaborating to address the foreclosure crisis, groups like ILP and Oak Park Regional Housing Center are going door-to door to spread the word about the program in English and Spanish. Homeowners are encouraged not to miss their court dates and receive information about how to make an appointment with a housing counselor who will guide them through the process. “Receiving a foreclosure summons is very intimidating. It makes people feel that they have committed a crime and that they need to hire a lawyer to defend them.  When we explain what actually happens in court -- that it is a brief process, that there are translators, and that the judges may give them more time to work out a solution with their bank-- they feel more confident in going to court.  We try to give people a sense of hope and the belief that they can work to save their home,” said Ana Godinez of ILP.  Through door-knocking, mailings and community events, neighborhood groups are informing residents about the Program resources and helping them make appointments, but also providing assistance to the renters they encounter, logging in vacant properties, and reporting cases of fraud.
 
In the short time since the inception of the program, over 5,000 homeowners have made an appointment with a housing counselor and the various legal aid providers have assisted over 10,000 people. Of those who have completed mediation, more than 50% are reaching an agreement with their banks to either stay in their homes via loan modifications or to stay a designated period of time during which they can make graceful exits. Not reaching an agreement is not necessarily bad: in most cases, homeowners leave the process with a better understanding of the pros and cons of foreclosing on a property and are able to pursue the best course of action for their situation. Surveys of lenders and homeowners going through mediation show satisfaction levels of 95%, regardless of the outcome.
 
Taking into consideration that the most conservative estimates put the cost of foreclosures at $100,000 per home, the Program is already saving millions of dollars to homeowners, lenders and communities and helping families stay in their homes. By bringing nonprofits, homeowners and lenders together, the Court is spearheading innovative ways to deal with foreclosures while helping expand nonprofit capacity in Chicago and the suburbs--two key goals of the Regional Home Ownership Preservation Initiative.